Pharmacy robber sent to prison

Peshtigo man will serve 13 years

MARINETTE - A Peshtigo man charged in the May 31, 2012, armed robbery of ValuCare Pharmacy, 1436 Main St., was sentenced to 13 years in prison Tuesday in Marinette County Circuit Court Branch 2.

Jason C. Baker, 30, also was ordered to pay $8,437.33, including $6,370.07 in restitution, face nine years extended supervision and his driver's license was revoked for six months.

He pleaded no contest Jan. 14 to charges of armed robbery, vehicle operator fleeing and eluding officer and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. A second count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and a single charge of theft of movable property were dismissed.

Baker was taken into custody after leading police on a high-speed chase. According to the investigation report, a pharmacy employee told police that a man wearing a hooded jacket and armed with a knife came to the front counter asking for three drugs - Adderall, Fentenyl, and OP 80s (Oxycontin).

He allegedly displayed the knife and told the pharmacy employee she had 30 seconds to get the drugs. When he began counting down from 30, the pharmacist took several bottles of Adderall pills, placed them into a box, and gave the box to the man.

"The pharmacist subsequently did an inventory of the Adderall pills taken and discovered a total of 906 capsules were stolen with a value of $5,660.06," the report stated.

After crossing the Interstate Bridge into Menominee, the suspect turned around and drove back over the bridge. Shortly thereafter, a chase ensued.

According to a Marinette police officer involved in the chase, the suspect's vehicle traveled down Hall Avenue in excess of 80 mph, drove straight through the roundabout, and continued away from the city on Highway 64 before crashing into a garden at Highway 64 and Rehms Road.

Baker will be eligible for the Challenger Incarceration and Earned Release programs only after serving 10 years in initial confinement.